The invention relates to a method of operating a multi-cylinder Diesel engine with electronically controlled injection timing valves.
Such methods are known, for example, from EP 0 501 459 A2 wherein fuel under high pressure is delivered by a high-pressure pump, which is configured as a piston pump, into a common rail (high-pressure reservoir) provided for all the nozzles and is supplied to the nozzles, which are controlled by magnetic valves in a manner taking into account a certain injection sequence.
Activation of a particular nozzle is associated with a certain cylinder of the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine by means of a synchronous pulse.
An electronic control unit, by which all nozzles can be activated in the correct sequence, has the proper injection sequence and ignition sequence stored in its memory. If there is a fault in, or total failure of, engine speed synchronized pulses, correct association of the injection pulses for a particular nozzle with a particular cylinder is no longer guaranteed during the operation of the internal combustion engine or during starting of the internal combustion engine with such an injection system operating in accordance with such a high-pressure reservoir principle.
The object of the present invention is, therefore, to eliminate this disadvantage by means of simple measures which will permit provisional operation of the internal combustion engine in such an emergency driving situation.